after that mass shooting at an elementary school. everyone struggling to come to grips with events that left 20 children and 6 adults dead at the school. it is still difficult for everybody to find the words. cbs reporter erica ferari is live to bring us the latest this morning. >> reporter: there are more questions than answers as people in this tight nit community try to wrap their minds around the unthinkable. >> candles flickered for each of the victims at sandy hook elementary school. >> thank you for gathering with us. it's been a horrible day. >> friday night the people of newtown, connecticut came together as a community to remember and to mourn. >> i have children. i couldn't fathom that. >> police say the gunman, 20-year-old add dan hand -- adam lanza arrived tat school where his mother worked. >> the caller is indicating she

thinking someone is shooting in the building. >> when he was done 20 children and 6 adults were dead. >> there were 20 parents that were told that their children are dead. it was awful. >> the principal dawn hochsprung was among the first killed. >> i can't believe she's gone. >> her teachers and staff did all they could to keep the kids safe. >> the teachers directed us to stay against the wall and everybody started kind of panicking. >> adam lanza ended the shooting when he turned the gun on himself. it wasn't until later that police here discovered the first murder victim, his own mother was found dead in their house. >> she was shot once in the face. that is a very brutal and also a very personal way to kill anyone, particularly a relative, especially your mother. >> the tragic events shocked the nation. >> our hearts are broken today. >> a mong the many questions still unanswered is the one that will haunt people for years to

come, why. >> reporter: and we are just down the street from the school. it is still a very active crime scene. police worked over night to identify and remove the bodies. back to you. >> thank you , erica. so far there is not a lot of insight into the motive behind the massacre. here's what we do know about the gunman adam lanza. the 20-year-old was an honor student. h he was described as brilliant but remote. investigators believe he may have suffered from a personality disorder. it's not clear if he had a job. he lived with his mother, she worked at the school in some capacity that's not also not clear. his parents filed for divorce in 200 208. it's heart stopping seeing the terrifying pictures of children who lived through that attack, some of them as young as 5 years old. many described living through a nightmare, hiding from the gunman in classrooms. lie lye library workers rushed -- library

workers rushed students into the closet. a janitor ran through the hall ways making sure classroom doors were locked from the inside. one teacher described hiding her 1st grade students in the bathroom. another teacher read to her class to try to keep them calm. in his vehiclely -- in his weekly address today president omaba focused his message only healing. >> this weekend michelle and i are doing what every parent is doing, holding our children as close as we can and reminding them how much we love them. there are families in connecticut who can't do that today. they need all of us right now because while nothing can take the place of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need, to remind them that we're there for them, that we're praying for them and that the love they felt for those they lost endures not just in their own memories but also in their communities and in their

country. >> in that weekly address the president also said we have to come together and take meaningful action regardless of the politics. we have heard this from our nation's leaders before. nancy cortis and the lack of gun control debate on capitol hill. >> adprosz the -- across from the white house is group of pro control gun demonstrators held a vigil. they called today's tragedy unspeakable but made no mention of the guns used to carry out the brutal act. gun control, an issue so hotly debated in the 1990s is rarely discussed seriously today. the ban on assault weapons was allowed to lapse in 2004. in 2009 congress

made it easier to carry guns in national parks and the president signed it. off july's massacre in colorado president omaba said ak-47s belong in the hands of soldiers not criminals. he did not propose gun legislation. that allowed speaker boehner to duck the issue too. >> i don't know. i'm not the expert on this. if the president has ideas i'd be happy to look at them. >> new york mayor michael bloomberg blasted both men. we need immediate action. we heard all this before. what we have not seen is leadership, not from the white house and not from congress. >> that violence in connecticut caused several bay area police departments to step up their presence around local schools. oakland, fremont and palo alto police all increased school patrols. san francisco police already have resource officers on campus. they are double checking school safety plans. a large crowd gathered to

remember the victims in hartford. children could ride the carousel during a winter festival. it was canceled so that children and adults could gather there for that vigil. people across the country held vigils for the victims, survivors and their families in newtown. a main street in walnut creek, a dozen people met with candles. more than 200 people attended a vigil in rancho cordova. they were supposed to meet on how to prevent crimes against children. there's a vigil that starts at 8:00 in golden gate park. you can find more at cbssf.com. we are looking at a chilly weekend and some rain. >> just a little bit. >> just enough to have to carry that umbrella around. >> exactly. it's a knewnuisance

rain today. we are starting out with a little bit of sun here and there around the bay area. there's just a few tiny echoes offshore. those indicate a system that's spinning up out in the pacific. it will spread with clouds and rain. it's not going to amount to much, maybe a tenth of an inch of rain, something like that by midnight tonight. there's more on the way later in the weekend. we will talk about that unsettled week ahead. we'll do weather in a few minutes. police if two of the biggest cities are looking to get guns off the streets this weekend. the oak land police department is holding its gun buy back event at saint benedicts church. san francisco a officer -- officers are hosting one at the oh mega boys club. they are offering $200 for every working gun turned in. today in point reyes the auto baun society will hold a christmas bird count.

it will do a bird census to assess the health of the bird population. that will help guide future conservation efforts. anyone can participate if you're interested. it's now in its 43rd year. the local county that thinks it has the most to lose to the rising water. >> still to come, in the wake of the newtown school shooting, the three words that may help you survive a violent crisis. we'll be right back. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

people ended up dead. another shooting to tell you about this morning. shots range out at a hotel in las vegas and two people ended up dead. at about 8:30 a man shot a woman in the lobby of the excalibur and the shooter turned the gun on himself. the woman was working at the hotel. the relationship between them is not clear. neither person has publicly been identified. u.s. commanders in afghanistan are offering up beat assessments.

the defense secretary visited the war zone earlier this week and commanders told him that things are going better than generally believed by the american public. the afghan president said they want u.s. and nato troops to speed up the transfer to afghan forces. the king tides are bringing a bigger issue to the surface. high tides shut down the roads in redwood city. it's a scene repeated for frequently than in the past. it is the hardest hit as sea levels continue to rise. installing bikes, dunes and sea seawalls could be a long term solution. sgld -- we have a little more water on the way. >> had you heard the expression king tide before? >> no. >> they just totally made it up. >> they're trying though. it kind of

fits. >> i know. this year my assistant news director said can you cover the king tides this week and i said sure, what are they. it's new phrases that comes out of nowhere. they're going to be vamping because the moon is no longer a new moon. here's the latest look at the high definition doppler. we are off to a chilly start today. concord 34, liver more is freezing. san francisco at 42 and san jose is a chilly 37. cloudy and cool morning. showers are going to be spreading south. more showers coming in on sunday for the bay area. we get an unusual cool start to the day and maybe a few showers this afternoon as we head out the door, a few peaks of the sun. temperatures will only be in the 40s by 9:00 and then the 50s in the bay area.

let me show you where it's coming from. this system that's coming out of the gulf of alaska, we're just about to get hit by those showers, not terribly frigid showers. it's not going to amount to much. it will be at most a tenth of an inch. for monday if you're headed out, a high of 59, winds out of the west. we don't look so bad either. temperatures in mid 50s for the bay area with 55 at mountain view, 54 in the city and 57 in oakland. these showers favor the north bay. sunday afternoon some rain and an unsettled week ahead. we will chat about that in a bit. for now back to ann. >> thanks. get red to i -- ready to say good-bye to the giant bagel and cup of coffee that sits on top of a company.

it's violating the roof times. they have until today to remove the display. a hot bowl of pasta helps on a winter day. how to add a spicy kick in it to this edition of tony's table. >> stephanie. >> held lo. we're doing -- hello. we're doing a pasta with all vegetables. >> it's so good for you. the star is this going to be this beautiful kale. you can buy t it -- it already cleaned in a bag without the stems. >> so far we have the kale cooking with all the vegetables together. we want them to absorb each other's flavor. we with threw in some carrots and broccoli. >> mix that up in there. >> okay . we also added a little bit of pasta water with

this. it just gives them some star issue. -- starch. >> we're going to finish this off with bred crumbs and it absorbs the moisture so it won't get too dry. >> add some red pepper. . >> give it some kick. >> just dump that in there. intlsz okay. >> -- >> okay. here we go. >> look how beautiful that looks. now we're going to finish this off with bred crumbs. >> my favorite part. >> a little bit of cheese, a little bit of olive oil and that's it. that's good for you. beautiful. bye -bye. we're going to go live to newtown, connecticut. there's a press briefing going on now. >> again they're open and available to anyone in the community who may have the need to discuss to talk

to talk about this incident in its entirety. i have the ability to take some questions. i just simply want you to understand that we still have major crime detectives and newtown detectives working at the scene in the school. that is not completed. that probably will not be completed for at least another day and a half to 2 days. i'm putting a time limit on it. it could take longer. as i explained to you in previous press conferences, we've done everything we need to do to literally peel back the onion layer by layer and examine every crack of that fa sellty. -- facility. >> he's asking the press to please protect the privacy of the grieving family members this morning as more information continues to come out we are continuing to follow it for you. we have all of the information right now on cbssf.com. all of

this information that has thus far been made available. we're going to be right back. >> we had a meeting this morning. that was a delay. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

you are looking at a worse case scenario reenactment. what to do if you find yourself in a situation like they saw in newtown. the video was made by the city of houston with a grant from the department of homeland security. experts say if you hear gunshots, run, hide or if you have no other choice fight back. we have plenty of questions about what led up to this nightmare in connecticut yesterday. so do our kids.

how do you talk to them? jim stier joining us live this morning. it depends on the age of the child. >> that's right. this is so tough for us as parents. it depends on the age of your children. if you have young kids under the age of 7 one of the most important things is turn off the tv set. it's very important that they don't sit there and get mem moreized by the imagines. this is scary. kids almost their age died in this. they're going to have fears and need to be comforted by you. >> it sounds like the problem is when you see these images repeatedly it makes them feel more real and closer to home. >> that's exactly right. remember the young er the kid is, the more likely they're going to feel that. it's going to be important to reassure them that they're safe. they're going to want to know this won't happen to them. they won't be going to school on monday and something

similar to this happen. there's the whole sense of love and support. you heard president omaba said hug your children more tightly. >> i think everybody did that yesterday. >> it's true. it will go on for days. the after effects and all the media images are going to linger. it's very important to listen to your kids feelings too. you know, you can talk with your children about this as they get older and particularly -- for example, one of our teenagers was very, very upset about this. it's a really traumatic experience for kids. you have to validate their feelings and acknowledge that they're real and you can't tell them this didn't happen because it did. you can help them process that. you can talk about your own feelings and you can make them feel safe and secure. >> as adults we're all very upset about this. you should to some extent hide those emotions from younger children. >> that's true in the sense of this, your actions speak louder than your words.

being calm and being stable is very important. your kids will take cues from you and the way you behave. it's very important that you model good behavior for them, which also means recognizing that an extraordinary unspeakable tragedy occurred. that doesn't mean that you want to sit in front of the tv set for 9 hours a day. return to normalcy as quickly as you can. process feelings and you want to be sure that you are comfortable but open to your kids so you can listen to what they're feeling. >> a lot of kids aren't very verbal. you might pick up on other clues. what kinds of things should we be watching for? >> every child is different. i have four of them and they're all unique. you have to watch how they're feeling. you can see it in their body language and face. a lot of the mental illness issues that will be talked about in the coming days are visible if you're aware of physical cues as well as verbal cues. you're right, some kinds

will retreat to their own shell, particularly older children. you have teenagers who have social emotional issues. this is the time when parenting is absolutely critical and being around and safe with your kids. also, it's the holidays, which can be an extraordinary positive time but that bring -- but they bring up a lot of emotions for children. if you have younger kids don't leave the tv on all day long. the kids see those images over and other -- over again. >> i think that's good advice for adults as well. >> i agree. >> thank you for that. we're going to be right back. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

sh here's a summary of what we know so far about the shooting in connecticut. we just got an update after a press conference. 20 children were killed yesterday morning at sandy hook elementary school in newtown. 6 adults working at the school also died, including the principal. the gunman has been identified as 20-year-old adam lanza. earlier he had killed his mother at their home. after his rampage he turned the gun on himself and committed suicide. a short time ago we heard from state police saying that investigators did find so-called good evidence, both at the home of the mother and in the school. we don't know what that evidence is. obviously they're keeping

details of the investigation close at hand right now. we will be finding out more an keeping you posted as we do. tomorrow on eyewitness news this morning the debate over gun control is back after those school shooting in connecticut. is public sentiment strong enough to change the law? >> the intensity of the opponents of control will out weigh the mild support that rest of the population might feel. >> also the oakland police department avoids a federal take over. a closer look at details of that settlement tomorrow at 7:30 a.m.. we hope you'll join us for that. last look at the weather today. we're starting off with it's cold around the bay area this morning and mostly cloudy. an unsettled week ahead. showers later this afternoon, showers on sunday afternoon. it looks like monday through thursday is going to be unsettled.

>> thanks. thank you for joining us this saturday morning. we'll be back tomorrow morning at 7:30. enjoy your saturday. ,,,,,,,,